Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:54 amPosts: 80Location: Back in the city of Golden mine dumps!

Hey

Here is the start of a thread where, every week, a new KNP place name will be provided with it's appropriate meaning.

Forumites can then chat about their experiences at the specific place or simply gain further knowledge about places they might be familiar with or about places they did not even know existed !

Since this is the beginning of the thread I thought I would start from the bottom of the park moving Northwards...

First "Word of the week" is Malelane

Malelane is a name synonomous with the Kruger Park and is the name given to a small camp in the park, an entrance gate, boreholes, a rangers outpost (in olden days) and the neighbouring town outside of the park [South Western Boundary of park]

Malelane is Siswati and is derived from the "malalane" regiment of Mswati II who guarded the Crocodile river crossing against the Bapedi (1845-1865)

The name was originally (1891) given to the railway station outside the park but was later adopted for the rangers post (c1924).

Malelane rest camp has been retained as a relic of the original Malelane rest camp of earlier years.

Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:54 amPosts: 80Location: Back in the city of Golden mine dumps!

I am very busy this upcoming week so have decided to post a number of "words of the week" now to satisfy the craving for the week ahead

This week I'm going to be focusing on some of the major rivers in the Southern section of the park [up to Tshokwane]

Biyamiti:

This river was a very attractive one to the First Tsonga settlers, who moved here from the East, as it was and still is the largest seasonal river in the Park. This meant that the area supported a large game population and thus a viable area for a small community. Game numbers continue to be high in this region of the Park

Biyamiti is a Tsonga word which means "Where barricades had to be erected around dwellings". A mixture of Ku Biya meaning "to make a barricade" and Miti "huts or dwellings". The name came about due to the fact that the Tsonga people had to protect themselves from the aggressive local people who often raided there villages.

Interestingly early Afrikaner's in the region named the river "Veldkraalspruit" which means "Dwelling in the bush"...

Sabie

The largest Perennial river in this area of the Park and a tributary of the Komati river outside the Park.

The name Sabie is derived from the SiSwati word Sabisa, "to be careful". The reason's given for the name are varied, however it is believed that the name refers to the slippery nature of the rocks in this river. The name Sabie is very old and was given to the river as far back as July 1725 by Francois De Kuiper, the river on his map being called "Sabe"

The now well-known spelling of Sabie came about in 1869.

The Northern boundary of the original Sabie game reserve, the fore-runner to today's Kruger National Park was boarded by the Sabie river and "Sabi bridge" was the original name given to Skukuza rest camp. Lower Sabie is also a large restcamp in the park today.

The river contains 49 different species of fish and is widely regarded as one of the richest rivers, in terms of biodiversity, in the world

Incidentally the riverine bush along the banks of Sabie supports the highest density of Leopards in the world, along with the shingwedzi river in the North of the Park.

Nwaswitsontso

This is generally a dry river traversing almost 100km through the park. It's Tsonga name which comes from the ideophone "Ntonto" means "to drip intermittently" or a river which flows underground and is only visible in certain areas! The name Nwaswitsontso is also old appearing on 18th century maps.

These intermittent pools attract large amounts of game and thus the larger predators.

Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:54 amPosts: 80Location: Back in the city of Golden mine dumps!

Hey everyone!

Once again still concentrating on place names in the Southern part of the park... Will meander through this region for a couple of weeks before heading North on our "place name safari"

It would also be a great idea to post any pics of the various places on this thread to give those fledgling KNP lover's a chance to see what the various places look like and to give experienced forumites a feel-good vibe ...Unfortunately i'm unable to post pics at the moment due to computer problems.

This week... "Picnic spots of the Southern region Part 1"

Afsaal

Interestingly Afsaal is the very first word in the KNP place name dictionary and is a lovely picnic spot and borehole 21km North of Malelane on the H3.

It is situated on the edge of the Mtlhowa Creek and the riverine bush lining this small creek often attracts Elephants, lions and even leopards (refer to Leopard at Afsaal thread ) to Afsaal. A resident pair of Scop's owls resides in the tree's at the picnic spot too

The word Afsaal is Afrikaans for "A place next to the road/ track where one breaks a journey to have a rest". Although this site has no evidence of having being used in the past as a rest stop, one can't help feel like a pioneer when whipping up an early morning Breakfast!

Nkhulu

This is perhaps the most visited picnic spot in all of Kruger and is one of the oldest too. It is situated 18km East of Skukuza on the Southern banks of the Sabie river.

Nkhulu is Tsonga for the "Natal Mahogany" tree that is widely distributed along the banks of the Sabie river and other large rivers with year-round water.

It is a favourite among seasoned Krugernites and one can often see buffalo's, vervet monkey's and water monitors in and around the picnic site.

Next instalment will be the remaining picnic sites in the Southern region

I'm not sure of the english equivalent of removing a saddle from a horse, but if we break down Afsaal, it basically means to "off-saddle" if we translate it directly from Afrikaans.

There are a number of areas along the "Voortrekker Road" between Pretorius Kop and Crocodile Bridge, where Sir Percy Fitzpatrick and other transport riders of that era used to rest up either for the night, or sometimes during the day. They are designated as outspan places on the maps of present day KNP.

_________________Bunny Hugger

Conservation is not an option.It's imperative.

Leave KNP alone. Go build a hotel someplace else. Reserves are for the preservation of wildlife.

I'm not sure of the english equivalent of removing a saddle from a horse, but if we break down Afsaal, it basically means to "off-saddle" if we translate it directly from Afrikaans.

There are a number of areas along the "Voortrekker Road" between Pretorius Kop and Crocodile Bridge, where Sir Percy Fitzpatrick and other transport riders of that era used to rest up either for the night, or sometimes during the day. They are designated as outspan places on the maps of present day KNP.

BH (or anyone) could you explain to a non-saffie what outspan places are. I've seen the term used a lot in the context of the history of KNP but no idea what it means.

Sorry to hijack you thread BushAndy. I love this topic, it's so much easier to digest the information when it's in episodes like this.

_________________Want to say Thank You or Well Done to a fellow 'mite? Why not nominate them for a Kudu?

Last edited by saraf on Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum